Southwest security escorted a man off their plane after he seemingly went off on flight attendants and passengers about a screaming child.
One passenger, Märc Grabowsky, captured the whole incident on video– including the man’s suggestion of arresting the baby. It’s unclear what happened after the man and the woman he was traveling with left with local police.
But the TikTok story sparked a viral conversation inspired by the man’s “so is the baby” response to the Southwest cabin crew telling him he was yelling.
#1
Irritated Passenger Asks Flight Crew If The Crying Baby Paid 'Extra To Yell'
We don’t know the man’s identity as of now. But, Märc revealed their Southwest flight was “stuck in a holding pattern for weather.” Then, another passenger, a Black man–likely in his 40s or older, started “losing his mind over a baby.” In the clip, a child cries as the man yells at the crew.
“I paid for a ticket too to have a f**king comfortable flight,” the man yelled. “That child has been crying for 40 minutes…and you can’t put your f**king finger in my face like that.”
At this point in the video, only Märc and the backs of two flight crew members can be seen as one says, “I’m sorry,” in response to the man. The man asked the crew to “calm the child down” while claiming he had headphones on and was asleep.
Then, one flight attendant walked away while another crew member, a Black man, joined and seemingly told the man to stop yelling.
“Why is the baby yelling? I’m not screaming. You want me to scream? You want me to scream? I’ll f**king scream. Please stop that baby from crying, please. If that child was a Black baby, what the f**k would be happening right now?”
The attendants refused to engage on the topic, instead talking amongst each other about contacting local authorities. That didn’t deter the irritated passenger. Instead, he continued to critique the crying child and its guardians.
“Cause there’s a child crying on a plane non-f**king stop, that’s what’s happened,” the passenger tells the male crew member who asks him to lower his voice. The passenger responds, “Can you lower that voice?”
The other flight attendant tries to ration with the passenger, repeatedly saying, “It’s a baby.”
“Let’s be rational, we’re in a f**king tin can with a baby in a goddamn echo chamber and you wanna talk to me about being f**king okay,” the passenger screams.
His reaction after the male flight attendant said, “Because you’re yelling,” got the trending phrase going.
“So is the baby,” the passenger screamed. The attendant responded, “so you’re a man.” And the passenger replied, “did that motherf**ker pay extra to yell?”
Later, the man expressed that if the police “put cuffs on that kid,” he’d be okay “with going to jail.” As mentioned, it’s unclear if he was arrested or cited.
WATCH WHAT ELSE WENT DOWN BELOW, STARTING AT THE 1:53 MARK:
Full video of Grown Black Man having a melt down over an out of control crying baby on the plane. Y'all do need to control y'all kids tho…
"Did that muthafucka pay extra to yell?"
"Lower that baby voice!" pic.twitter.com/SS83l3qYWa— shawn allen (@defundshawn) April 18, 2023
#2
Here's How Other Passengers Reacted To The Man's Blow Out
In Märc’s viral videos, other passengers whispered and objected to the irritated passenger’s behavior. While their faces aren’t visible, their opinions are heard!
One passenger said, “I’m trying to keep my calm, but if I wasn’t on this plane.”
After the man made the ‘paid extra’ comment, another passenger yelled at the man, saying, “Yo, shut up.” Unphased, the man responded, “f**k you and shut up.”
The passenger replied, “you disturbing my peace now.” Again, the man clapped back, “I don’t give a f**k. You was sitting there watching that motherf**king baby cry for 45 minutes. That sh*t didn’t have nothing to do with nothing.”
Another voice called out, “Lower your voice,” as the grumbles on the plane got louder. Someone else said, “He’s an a**hole” while another added “grown a** man acting like that.”
#3
Social Media Divided On The Man's Reaction
While most passenger reactions seemed disapproving, the online responses to the blowout are mixed. Some people are dragging him for his behavior–and arrest suggestions while others sympathize with his evident frustration.
The man’s reaction also sparked a conversation about airlines offering adult-only flights. As of Wednesday, Southwest has not commented on the incident, and the identities of the parents and the crying child remain unknown.
@
It’s unclear when this incident took place–Märc uploaded the content on Wednesday to TikTok. Meanwhile, Southwest had a difficult time early Wednesday when hundreds of flights were delayed due to technical difficulties by 11:35 a.m. ET Southwest had resumed operations, per a company tweet.
We’ve resumed operations this morning following a pause in service. Please visit https://t.co/64eTbzR9ph to check your flight status and explore self-service options as we work to restore operations and accommodate disrupted Customers as quickly as possible. pic.twitter.com/xGLJLsbiQV
— Southwest Airlines (@SouthwestAir) April 18, 2023
KEEP SCROLLING TO SEE SOME ONLINE REACTIONS:
https://twitter.com/RVAReid/status/1648328441182208000?s=20
The crying baby (which sounds more like a toddler than a baby-baby) magically stops crying halfway through this man’s rant which leads me to believe the people they were traveling with could’ve done more to meet whatever need they were expressing.
40-45 minutes is excessive. pic.twitter.com/af2xsIDF3g
— I’m David Ruffin, and these are The Temptations (@LaCienegaBlvdss) April 18, 2023
Y’all still on this teacher & phone situation meanwhile a Baby was crying about 45 min on a plane and a man went off about it and when the flight attendant said “sir your yelling” he replied ”So is the baby, Did that mf pay extra to yell” 😂😂😂😂😂🫠it ain’t right but I hollered
— Elizabeth (@doitmuvaaa) April 19, 2023
Nobody:
The man to the baby crying on the plane :https://t.co/6Dals5ewmS
— Lonnié ♊️ 🧘🏾♂️✨ (@WellLonnieSaid) April 18, 2023
And as a parent who has had the crying baby on a plane— we’re literally doing everything humanly possible to soothe them. Kiss our ass fr https://t.co/n32M2XqbZs
— Kay (@KaylarWill) April 18, 2023
Y’all got all this money and ain’t got noise canceling headphones? Why you even hearing babies crying on the plane.
— That Blame Guy (@ImToBlame) April 18, 2023
Airline just for babies got me crying cause I just imagined a plane full of unsupervised babies and with a baby as the pilot https://t.co/dT8i7OSdX3
— 🥷🏾 (@NikeTechRanger) April 18, 2023
Saying parents need to control their BABY cuz a BABY was crying on the plane is crazy. Guess what BABIES CRY. Deal with it. Babies exist in this world. Of course it’s annoying I’m a mom & get overstimulated but also know there’s nothing you can do sometimes especially on a plane
— mamamoo (@thelovelyMC) April 18, 2023
https://twitter.com/jazzmen_k/status/1648323889540345856?s=20
Planes are public transportation meaning you're going to deal with crying babies on a plane the same way you would deal with a crying baby on a train or bus. Be an adult and ignore the crying it's not that serious https://t.co/NLOSyf4MI5
— Miguel 🍉 (@MUGLERMEGAN) April 19, 2023
No because this is how I be feelin on a plane with a baby crying🤣🤣🤣 https://t.co/tDK80V1AzA
— indya🍒 (@IndyaByrd) April 19, 2023
Yall gon crucify me but the way he feels about that baby crying for 40 mins straight on a plane is the same way I feel about ppl bringing their babies to a movie theater. Like why tf would you do that??? https://t.co/XMVHFSyRfF
— Iroquois Pliskin (@_STAT901) April 18, 2023
https://twitter.com/RVAReid/status/1648332073915109376?s=20
My first thought whenever I see a baby crying on a plane pic.twitter.com/ai36PgFuN9
— (Vi)rtual Angel (@ViLettuce) April 12, 2023
I don’t know what to say about the crying baby in the plane video and the teacher video.. just sitting here appalled that this is what we have as a society.
— Alona Ballard (@DJAlonaB) April 19, 2023
That guy did too much in that video, but that doesn’t take away the fact that crying babies on the plane…. Is indeed annoying.🤷🏽♀️ https://t.co/gOwayd59Dk
— ✨Thee Enigma✨ (@AndreaDiorMe) April 18, 2023